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Aurelae
Backstory Aurelae was born to a human mother and elven father. The rites of her father's tribe demanded that she be brought up in the tribe's village. Her mother couldn't bear being so close yet so far way from her daughter, and left the human settlement on the edge of the tribe's forest for family in the far reaches of Davros. The absence of a mother, and the demeaning way in which the other elves referred to the human half of her, eventually drove Aurelae to set out to find her mother. According to elvish rites she was not yet of age to travel alone, but the elves seemed to easily forget that Aurelae was not blessed with a life nigh-eternal like the rest of them. The resulting conflict led to her banishment, her father looking sad but stoic upon her departure, not a single tear shed. With her bow in hand, and all her possessions in her pack, she set off for the southeastern town of Riddlewood. Fortunately for Aurelae, her father had been the master hunter of their tribe and had passed much of his skills on to his daughter. Her skill with bow and dagger were strongly developed for one so young (by elven standards). Her keen eyes could perceive prey from far away, and she could track them for many miles. Once cornered, she could read an animal like a piece of parchment and deliver the final blow with acuity. Out of necessity, as there were many burrows of theirs in the forest, she was also well versed in the language of Goblins, and had a distaste for the cretins. All the skills of the elves could not help her return her mother from the grave, however. She had succumbed in years prior due to the sadness that had never left her after being separated from her infant daughter. Now without quest or place to call home, Aurelae felt lost to the world. She found solace in the man called Jorath, her uncle who had taken care of her mother until her death. The man was unmarried and of an advanced age, yet full of vigor and of keen mind. He was a historian, using Riddlewood's function as a trading town to get many a story to record from the mouths of travelers and traders. He offered Aurelae a place to stay whenever she wanted, provided she'd help him sort through his stories and notes in her off-time. He also handed her her mother's old coiled silver ring, to remember her by. For a little while, this life as a historian's scribe helped her push back the heavy weight of her shattered family life. As days turned into weeks, however, restlessness took her. She started to frequent the local tavern, trying to pick up opportunity for more active distractions from her worries. When these did not present themselves, she'd aptly, and personally, study the human fondness of the drink. As luck might have it, her forays into the tavern led her to a dwarf named Grandl. He was the head tradesman for a dwarven mining camp in the mountains to the west. As the eleven-hour trek through rough terrain made frequent trading cumbersome, he was willing to offer Aurelae a job: if she'd come up there and supply a certain amount of foraged fruits and nuts, hunted meats and furs per week, he'd pay her amply. Aurelae accepted, and this became a steady partnership for the better part of three years. In her time at the mining camp she ate, drank, sang and sometimes mined (a curious and industrious elf as she was) with the dwarves, learning the Dwarven language and grasping the basics of mining. In her time in Riddlewood, she'd help her uncle and learn more about the histories of many things. All was well for a time. Unfortunately, mines tend to only be profitable while there are still materials to be mined. By this time Grandl had become a good friend to Aurelae, and she was afraid he'd leave for greener pastures. She was right, but not in the way she expected. Grandl took it upon himself to become the most successful miner in Hardholme, winning the lottery. Aurelae was not so lucky. This was a year ago, and once again the possibility of traveling to Hardholme had come up. Although she had come to care a great deal for uncle Jorath, she knew she would wither away in Riddlewood. She wanted adventure, and she wanted to see her friend again. Once again, she bought a ticket, this time striking gold!(edited) As she packed up her things to head towards Hardholme, Jorath came to her. “I made you this,” he said. It was a tome full of stories she hadn't seen in his notes before. “These are sometimes more folklore than history, but I figured you could use a good read on a voyage like yours.” She hugged him goodbye, tears in her eyes. It was time to go, fast, before regret and worries about the old man would root her to the ground. On The Ship Due to her mixed heritage Aurelae never really felt like she belonged. Growing up, she was too human to the elves, and once she ventured from home she was often not human enough to many humans. These experiences made Aurelae circumspect and deliberate in whom she chose to befriend. Grandl was her closest friend who was not related by blood, and she was elated at the thought of getting to see him again! She didn’t expect to find any close friends on the ship to Hardholme, although subconsciously the tiny flutter of hope smoldered that maybe just one of them could be of some small level of company. So for the first few months she operated with the others in the way she knew how: by being useful, and being a team player. She definitely felt at odds though because most of her skills — hunting, scouting, building shelter — weren’t needed on this voyage. She started to withdraw a bit and observe more as she poured her energy into her other primary talent and passion: writing a history of the 71st collection’s journey to Hardholme. She loved the idea of continuing her uncle’s craft in this new world. Then, one day, as she was chronicling Fitz teaching Buckler how to play chess, her curiosity overtook her social anxiety and she asked to play. Fitz turned out to be an admirable adversary, which was a pleasant surprise! (She had never met a goblin even aware of the concept of personal hygiene, let alone masterful at chess.) Playing chess with her father is one of her most cherished childhood memories. And the first time she actually won a game against him is still one of her most triumphant victories. So she got to know the guys on the ship through chess and eventually taught them all a fun version of the game (that she learned from Grandl) that involved drinking each time you lost a piece. This was a treasured pastime, at least for as long as the mead lasted on the ship. Another very pleasant, and very unexpected bond formed when Maeve insisted that all the girls on the ship share a bunk once a month. Aurelae at first felt incredibly awkward. She had never been a girly-girl, but Maeve had a genuineness about her that quickly put her at ease, and after a couple of these gatherings she felt herself looking forward to them. Towards the end of the journey she felt an unfamiliar sadness at the thought that they likely would not continue once they reached their destination.